Drapery support assembly



y 30,1967 $.WEISBERG 3,321,797

DRAPERY SUPPORT ASSEMBLY Filed June 25, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet l Z5 INVENTOR.

'X A/EY lfls/saaeg I OeA/EX y 30, 1967 s. WEISBERG 3,321,797

DRAPERY SUPPORT AS S EMBLY Filed June 25, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. /0 M INVENTOR S a/var fi z/saaeq United States Patent 3,321,797 DRAPERY SUIPORT ASSEMBLY Eidney Weisherg, Maplcwood, N..I., assignor to Worthy Products Corp New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed June 25, 1965, Ser. No. 467,028 Claims. (Cl. 16--87.4)

This invention relates to hardware for hanging draperies, curtains and the like, and particularly to support elements whereby draperies or curtains are attached to a traverse rod.

Where draperies or curtains are secured to a traverse rod, it is customary to attach the drapery to one or more sliding elements by means of hooks. The hooks are thrust through the material of the drapery and then engaged with the sliding elements by means of a wide variety of coupling structures. Where the draperies are pleated or provided with a heading, the weight of the top of the drapery causes it to fall forward and away from the traverse rod resulting in an unsightly appearance.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide drapery support elements which will hold the heading of a drapery or curtain in a vertical position for a prolonged period of time.

Another object of the present invention is to provide drapery supported elements which will maintain the drapery in a vertical position so that it covers the traverse rod despite opening and closing of the drapery or curtain.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide an inexpensive drapery support element which can be applied to the drapery with great ease.

A further object of the present invention is to provide draperysupport elements which will hold the drapery in the desired orientation without damaging the fabric.

Another object of the present invention is to provide drapery support elements which are interchangeable and can be used for a wide variety of drapes or curtains.

A feature of the present invention is its use of depending guide members which support the back of the drapery or curtain in a vertical position.

Another feature of the present invention is its use of support members which are incorporated into the normal traverse rod slider when the curtain or drapery is being hung.

Still another feature of the present invention is its use of drapery support members which support the drapery or curtain between drapery pleats to prevent exposure of the traverse rod.

The invention consists of the construction, combination and arrangement of parts, as herein illustrated, described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part hereof, there are illustrated several embodiments of the invention, in which drawings similar reference characters designate corresponding parts, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a view in side elevation of a prior art drapery support structure.

FIGURE 2 is a view in front elevation of a drapery pleat shown on a somewhat enlarged scale, illustrating the manner in which the drapery overlies the traverse rod.

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view taken on line 33, in FIGURE 2, looking in the direction of the arrows.

FIGURE 4 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 44, in FIGURE 3, looking in the direction of the arrows.

FIGURE 5 is a view in rear elevation taken from the plane 5-5, in FIGURE 3, looking in the direction of the arrows.

FIGURE 6 is a somewhat exploded fragmentary view of one form of drapery support assembly, made in accordance with the present invention.

FIGURE 7 is a somewhat isometric fragmentary view of a drapery and rod assembly with the supporting elements shown in dashed lines.

FIGURE 8 is a vertical section taken on line 8-8, in FIGURE 7, looking in the direction of the arrows.

FIGURE 9 is .a somewhat isometric view of still another drapery support element made in accordance .with the present invention.

FIGURE 10 is an exploded view of a further drapery support element such as is shown in FIGURE 7.

Referring now to the drawings and particularly to FIGURE 1, 11 indicates a prior art drapery support consisting of a traverse rod 12, a slider 13, and a hook 14. The hook is somewhat S shaped, and sharpened at one end to engage the material of the drapery 15. The opposite end 16 of the hook 14 is slipped through an opening 17 in the slider 13. The slider 13 is provided with a small wheel-like member 18, which is received within the hollow rod 12 so that the support elements can be moved horizontally for the purpose of opening and closing the drapery or curtain.

As clearly shown in FIGURE 1, the drapery 15 has a tendency to rotate about the hook 1.4 and tilt away from the rod 12, forming a break indicated at 19. Aside from the undesirable appearance of the break 19, the drapery in tilting forward exposes the unsightly traverse rod 12 to view. This action is particularly common where the top of the drapery 15 is pleated and the pleats are reinforced by means of some stiff material, such as buckram, horsehair or the like. The weight of the reinforcing material adds to the tendency of the drape to tilt away from its desired vertical orientation.

In FIGURES 2 through 6, there is illustrated a drapery support element which IWiil overcome the shortcomings of the prior art device illustrated in FIGURE 1. In this form of the invention, a rear drapery support arm 20, best shown in FIGURE 6 is interposed between the depending tab 21, of the slider 13, and the hook 14. The support arm 20 consists of a single length of material such as metal, plastic or the like, elongated and provided at its lower end with drapery engaging teeth 22, and at its upper end with a substantially U shaped portion 23,. which is adapted to be received upon the slider tab 21. The U shaped part 23 of the support arm 20 is further provided with openings 24, which in the assembled condition are in register with the openings 17, in the slider 13.

From an examination of FIGURE 3 it will be observed that the support arm 20 is first slipped over the end of the slider tab 21, until the openings 24 are in register with the openings 17, in the slider 13. Thereafter, the end of the hook 14 is slipped through the opening in the manner shown to securely couple the assembly together. The teeth 22 of the support arm 20 will engage the backs of the drapery 15 which customarily will have been secured to the hook before the end 16 of the hook 17 is slipped through the holes 17, 24. It will 'be seen from an examination of FIGURE 3 that any tendency of the drapery 15 to rotate about the hook 14 in the manner shown in FIGURE 1, will be overcome by the outward deflection of the support arm 20. The teeth 22 in addition to engaging the drapery and further preventing tilting, keep the support arm 20 from rotating about the pin 14.

Referring to FIGURES 7, 8 and 10, there is shown a further embodiment of the present invention in which the support arm 20 is provided at its upper end with a sleevelike structure 24, adapted to slip over the end of the slider tab 21. The sleeve 24 is of non-circular cross-section so that it will not rotate about the pin 14, after the elements are assembled in the manner shown in FIG- URES 7 and 8. The sleeve 24 is also provided with one or more openings 25 which permit the end 16 of the drapery hook 14 to pass through the sleeve and the slider tab opening 17. The bottom of the support arm 20 in 3 FIGURES 7, 8 and 1 0, is illustrated with a tooth 26. However, it is within the purview of the present invention to eliminate the tooth 26 in this embodiment and have the drapery 16 bear against the end of the support arm 20 as shown in FIGURE 8.

Where the drapery or curtain is reinforced along the top with a heading containing buckram or the like, it is sometimes necessary to support the drapery in a vertical position pleats 27 in order to keep it from falling forward in much the manner illustrated in FIGURE 1. FIGURES 7 and 9 show support elements 28 adapted to serve this function.

The support elements 28 consist of elongated metal strips 29, made of any suitable rigid material having a .small roller or wheel 18 journaled at the top thereof as indicated at 30. The wheel 18 is identical in construction with the wheel used in the other embodiments of the present invention, and in the prior art, and merely serves to permit the support 28 to be moved laterally as the curtain or drape is opened or closed. The bottom of the strip 29 is provided with one or more teeth 31, which engage the drapery 15 in the manner hereinabove described.

In use, the support elements 28 are slipped into the traverse rod 12, in the manner shown in FIGURE 7, so that they are positioned between the sliders 13. One or more support elements 28 may be so positioned depending upon the spacing between the pleats 27. It will be apparent that the depending arm 32 of the support element 28 would serve to hold the drapery 15 in a vertical position particularly since the said arm is curved in the direction of the drapery as indicated at 33.

From the foregoing it will be seen that there has been provided drapery support elements which are simple in structure, easy to apply, and which will nevertheless hold a drapery at the top thereof in a vertical position at all times over a prolonged period of use.

Having thus fully described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent of the United States, is:

1. A drapery support assembly for a horizontal, hollow, curtain rod comprising a slider freely carried within the curtain rod, a depending tab on said slider having an opening spaced from the free end thereof, a downwardly extending drapery support arm curved outwardly away from the slider, a tab receiving recessed portion on the upper end of the support arm engageable with the depending tab and provided with at least one opening in register with the tab opening in the engaged position, and a drapery supporting hook receivable within the tab and support arm openings to couple the assembly together, and said support arm extends substantially below the drapery supporting hook to engage the drapery and prevent it from tilting.

2. A drapery support assembly according to claim 1 in which the support arm is formed with a tab receiving sleeve of non-circular cross-section having a hook receiving opening therein.

3. A drapery support member comprising an elongated substantially rigid strip, a roller journaled at one end of the strip and disposed laterally thereof, a curved body portion on said strip provided with an opening therethrough, said curve extending in the direction of the roller and a drapery supporting hook receivable -within the strip opening, and the end of the strip opposite the roller extends substantially below the hook and is provided with drapery engaging teeth.

4. A drapery support member according to claim 1 in which the support arm is formed with drapery engaging teeth at the free end thereof.

5. A drapery support member according to claim 1 in which the tab receiving recessed portion comprises the upper end of the support arm doubled back upon itself and then upwardly looped to form a substantially U shaped configuration.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,840,159 6/1958 King.

MARVIN A. CHAMPION, Primary Examiner.

EDWARD C. ALLEN, Examiner.

J. H. MCGLYNN, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A DRAPERY SUPPORT ASSEMBLY FOR HORIZONTAL, HOLLOW, CURTAIN ROD COMPRISING A SLIDER FREELY CARRIED WITHIN THE CURTAIN ROD, A DEPENDING TAB ON SAID SLIDER HAVING AN OPENING SPACED FROM THE FREE END THEREOF, A DOWNWARDLY EXTENDING DRAPERY SUPPORT ARM CURVED OUTWARDLY AWAY FROM THE SLIDER, A TAB RECEIVING RECESSED PORTION ON THE UPPER END OF THE SUPPORT ARM ENGAGEABLE WITH THE DEPENDING TAB AND PROVIDED WITH AT LEAST ONE OPENING IN REGISTER WITH THE TAB OPENING IN THE ENGAGED POSITION, AND A DRAPERY SUPPORTING HOOK RECEIVABLE WITHIN THE TAB AND SUPPORT ARM OPENINGS TO COUPLE THE ASSEMBLY TOGETHER, AND SAID SUPPORT ARM EXTENDS SUBSTANTIALLY BELOW THE DRAPERY SUPPORTING HOOK TO ENGAGE THE DRAPERY AND PREVENT IT FROM TILTING. 